Sonakshi, Zaheer are officially wife and husband

Mumbai, June 24 : Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal are officially husband and wife, now that they have completed all the legal formalities related to a civil marriage.

The marriage, which was formalised at Sonakshi’s sprawling sea-facing, 26-floor apartment in Bandra West, was attended by friends and relatives from both sides, including her parents — Bollywood veteran and newly-elected Lok Sabha MP from Asansol, Shatrughan Sinha, and his wife, Poonam — and her close friend as well as ‘Double XL’ co-star Huma Qureshi. The newly-weds posted their first pictures as husband and wife instantly after their intimate wedding. Taking to social media, the lovebirds dropped the first glimpses of their wedding looks. Sonakshi can be seen wearing an ivory-and-golden saree.

She opted for a minimal makeup look and accessorised with a kundan choker necklace, matching earrings and bangles. Her hair is tied in a neat bun with gajra on it. She has minimal mehendi on her hands. Zaheer, meanwhile, looked dapper in a white sherwani. In the pictures, Zaheer is seen kissing the hand of Sonakshi, while she is smiling from ear to ear. Another picture shows Shatrughan Sinha holding his daughter’s hand, as she signs the wedding papers.

The post’s caption reads: “On this very day, seven years back (23.06.2017) in each other’s eyes, we saw love in its purest form and decided to hold on to it. Today that love has guided us through all the challenges and triumphs… leading up to this moment … with the blessings of both our families and both our gods.” It ended with: “We are now man and wife. Here’s to love, hope and all things beautiful with each other, from now until forever.” Following their marriage, the newly-weds sent sweets to the paparazzi stationed outside with a heartfelt message that read, “Thank you for showering us with so much love, happiness and kindness on the most important day of our lives! Your support and wishes mean the world to us. Lots of love, Sonakshi and Zaheer.” With the legal formalities for the civil marriage completed, public attention has moved to the reception venue, Bastian, the Asian-inspired modernist restaurant on Linking Road in Mumbai. Among the early arrivals at the restaurant were Aditi Rao Hydari (‘Bibbojaan’), Sonakshi’s ‘Heeramandi’ co-star, and her fiance (and South Indian star) Siddharth.

Zaheer’s ‘Ruslaan’ cast mate, Aayush Sharma, the brother-in-law of Salman Khan, who played Cupid to the newly-weds, was among the early arrivals as well. Manisha Koirala, the ‘Heeramandi’ diva, sent flowers to convey her best wishes because she could not attend the wedding as a result of prior commitments. For Sunday night’s party, the theme is black and red, and a team of decorators at work in Bastian arranged an array of red flowers and rolled out the red carpet. DJ Ganesh, who’s known for his eclectic choice of music, will be performing live at the reception. The rooftop restaurant, incidentally, was founded in 2014 by Ranjit Bindra, Shilpa Shetty and Kunal Jani, and is helmed by Suvir Saran, celebrity chef and founder of the now-closed Michelin-starred restaurant Devi in New York. Sonakshi and Zaheer, the man she lovingly describes as her ‘personal psycho’, have been dating for the past seven years. Salman, who gave Sonakshi her Bollywood break in the action-comedy ‘Dabbang’ (2010), played Cupid.

Zaheer, too, made his debut in a Salman Khan-produced film — ‘Notebook’ — where he was cast opposite another newbie, Pranutan Bahl, daughter of actor Mohnish Bahl, and granddaughter of Nutan. It is said that Salman introduced Sonakshi to Zaheer on the sets of ‘Notebook’ in 2017.